Plate assembly and method of manufacturing for use in water treatment

ABSTRACT

Various systems, apparatus, and methods used to remove solids from water are provided. A plate assembly for a plate settler assembly is provided which includes a plate body with a plate body thickness. The plate assembly also includes a first support plate attached to the plate body on a first axis extending between the first and second end of the plate body. The plate assembly may further include a second support plate attached to the plate body on a second axis extending between the first and second end. The plate assembly may also include a stiffener or a central stiffener attached to the plate body on a third axis. The plate assembly may still further include a flow control plate along the first end. The thickness of the support plates, stiffener, and flow control plate are greater than the plate body thickness. A corresponding method of manufacture is provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/830,721, filed Apr. 8, 2019, the content of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to aplate assembly, a plate settler assembly, and associated methods ofmanufacturing and using said plate assembly and plate settler assemblyfor separating solids from water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Clarifiers may be used to remove solids from a fluid suspension such as,for example, during the treatment of water. The removal of the solidsoccurs through sedimentation where the water is allowed to pass throughlarge basins or tanks, commonly referred to as “clarifiers.”

A lamella clarifier or “plate settler” is a type of clarifier having aseries of mutually parallel plates disposed therein. Each plate definesa settling surface that is structured in contact with a water flow. Asthe flow travels upward between the parallel plates along theirrespective settling surfaces, the heavier solids begin to collect on thesettling surfaces and, thus, are removed from the lighter water flow.

Applicant has identified a number of deficiencies and problemsassociated with the manufacture, use, and maintenance of conventionalwater clarifiers. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation,Applicant has solved many of these identified problems by developing asolution that is embodied by the present invention, which is describedin detail below.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In an example embodiment, a plate assembly is provided for a platesettler. The plate assembly includes a plate body defining a first endand a second end. The plate body includes a first surface and a secondsurface each extending between the first end and the second end. Theplate body defines a plate body thickness between the first surface andthe second surface. The plate assembly also includes a first supportplate attached to the plate body on a first axis extending between thefirst end and the second end. The first support plate is configured tosupport the plate body along at least a direction of the first axis. Thefirst support plate defines a first support plate thickness. The firstsupport plate thickness is greater than the plate body thickness.

In some embodiments, the plate assembly also includes a second supportplate attached to the plate body on a second axis extending between thefirst end and the second end. In such an embodiment, the second supportplate is configured to support the plate body along at least a directionof the second axis and the second support plate defines a second supportplate thickness greater than the plate body thickness. In someembodiments, the first axis is parallel to the second axis.

In some embodiments, the plate body further defines a first lateral edgeand a second lateral edge each extending between the first end and thesecond end. In such an embodiment, the first support plate is attachedto the plate body along the first lateral edge, and the second supportplate is attached to the plate body along the second lateral edge. Insome embodiments, the first support plate is attached to the secondsurface of the plate body along the first lateral edge. In such anembodiment, the second support plate is attached to the second surfaceof the plate body along the second lateral edge.

In some embodiments, the first support plate comprises a first leg and asecond leg defining a first intersection therebetween. In such anembodiment, the first intersection is disposed on the first axis, thefirst leg includes an attachment surface configured to attach to theplate body, and the first leg is angled relative to the second leg. Insome embodiments, the first support plate includes a third leg and asecond intersection between the second leg and the third leg. In such anembodiment, the third leg is angled relative to the second leg, and thefirst leg, the second leg, and the third leg of the first support plateare configured to define a C-shaped channel.

In some embodiments, the plate body defines a first lateral edge and asecond lateral edge each extending between the first end and the secondend. The plate assembly further includes a stiffener attached to theplate body on a third axis extending between the first lateral edge andthe second lateral edge. In such an embodiment, the stiffener isconfigured to support the plate body along at least a direction of thethird axis, the stiffener defines a stiffener thickness, and thestiffener thickness is greater than the plate body thickness. In someembodiments, the stiffener thickness is greater than the first supportplate thickness. In some embodiments, the first axis is perpendicular tothe third axis.

In some embodiments, the stiffener includes a first stiffener leg and asecond stiffener leg defining a stiffener intersection therebetween. Thestiffener intersection is disposed on the third axis and the firststiffener leg is disposed at an angle to the second stiffener leg. Insome embodiments, the plate assembly includes a flow control plateextending from and structurally supporting the first end of the platebody. The flow control plate defines a first lateral flow encouragingsurface and a second lateral flow encouraging surface.

In some embodiments, the plate body and the first support plate are eachmade from sheet metal. In such an embodiment, the plate body is madefrom 26 gauge stainless steel sheet metal. In some embodiments, theplate assembly further includes a welded joint between the plate bodyand the first support plate. In some embodiments, the plate body definesa first lateral edge and a second lateral edge each extending betweenthe first end and the second end. The plate body defines a width of 54.5inches between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge.

In some embodiments, the plate body defines a first lateral edge and asecond lateral edge each extending between the first end and the secondend. In such an embodiment, the plate assembly further includes acentral stiffener attached to the plate body on a third axis extendingbetween the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge. Thestiffener is configured to support the plate body along at least adirection of the third axis, wherein the stiffener defines a centralstiffener thickness and the central stiffener thickness is greater thanthe plate body thickness.

In an example embodiment, a method of manufacturing a plate assembly isprovided. The method includes defining a first end and a second end of aplate body. The plate body includes a first surface and a second surfaceeach extending between the first end and the second end. The plate bodydefines a plate body thickness between the first surface and the secondsurface. The method also includes attaching a first support plate to theplate body on a first axis extending between the first end and thesecond end. The first support plate is configured to support the platebody along at least a direction of the first axis, wherein the firstsupport plate defines a first support plate thickness and the firstsupport plate thickness is greater than the plate body thickness.

In some embodiments, the method also includes attaching a second supportplate to the plate body on a second axis extending between the first endand the second end. The second support plate is configured to supportthe plate body along at least a direction of the second axis, the secondsupport plate defines a second support plate thickness, and the secondsupport plate thickness is greater than the plate body thickness. Insome embodiments, the first axis is parallel to the second axis. In someembodiments, the plate body further defines a first lateral edge and asecond lateral edge each extending between the first end and the secondend. The first support plate is attached to the plate body along thefirst lateral edge and the second support plate is attached to the platebody along the second lateral edge. In some embodiments, the firstsupport plate is attached to the second surface of the plate body alongthe first lateral edge. In some embodiments, the second support plate isattached to the second surface of the plate body along the secondlateral edge.

In some embodiments, the first support plate includes a first leg and asecond leg defining a first intersection therebetween. The firstintersection is disposed on the first axis, the first leg comprises anattachment surface configured to attach to the plate body, and the firstleg is angled relative to the second leg. In such an embodiment, thefirst support plate includes a third leg and a second intersectionbetween the second leg and the third leg; the third leg is angledrelative to the second leg; and the first leg, the second leg, and thethird leg of the first support plate are configured to define a C-shapedchannel.

In some embodiments, the plate body defines a first lateral edge and asecond lateral edge each extending between the first end and the secondend. The plate assembly further includes attaching a stiffener to theplate body on a third axis extending between the first lateral edge andthe second lateral edge. The stiffener is configured to support theplate body along at least a direction of the third axis, wherein thestiffener defines a stiffener thickness and the stiffener thickness isgreater than the plate body thickness. In some embodiments, thestiffener thickness is greater than the first support plate thickness.In some embodiments, the first axis is perpendicular to the third axis.

In some embodiments, the stiffener includes a first stiffener leg and asecond stiffener leg defining a stiffener intersection therebetween. Thestiffener intersection is disposed on the third axis and the firststiffener leg is disposed at an angle to the second stiffener leg.

In some embodiments, the method also includes attaching a flow controlplate extending from and structurally supporting the first end of theplate body. In such an embodiment, the flow control plate defines afirst lateral flow encouraging surface and a second lateral flowencouraging surface. In some embodiments, the plate body and the firstsupport plate are each made from sheet metal. In such an embodiment, theplate body is made from 26 gauge stainless steel sheet metal.

In some embodiments, the method also includes welding a joint betweenthe plate body and the first support plate. In some embodiments, theplate body defines a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge eachextending between the first end and the second end and the plate bodydefines a width of 54.5 inches between the first lateral edge and thesecond lateral edge.

In some embodiments, the plate body defines a first lateral edge and asecond lateral edge each extending between the first end and the secondend. In such embodiments, the method of manufacturing a plate assemblyalso includes attaching a central stiffener to the plate body on a thirdaxis extending between the first lateral edge and the second lateraledge. In such an embodiment, the central stiffener is configured tosupport the plate body along at least a direction of the third axis,wherein the central stiffener defines a central stiffener thickness andthe central stiffener thickness is greater than the plate bodythickness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a system of plate settler assemblies,such as embodied as a water treatment plant, according to an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a plate settler assembly incorporating aplurality of plate assemblies structured in accordance with variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of inlet ports positioned proximate the baseof the plate settler assembly shown in FIG. 2, taken along detail circle3;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a plate settler assemblystructured in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a plate settler assembly structured inaccordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6A is a sectional view of the connection between a first supportplate and a plate body structured in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6B is a sectional view of the connection between a second supportplate and a plate body structured in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 7A is a sectional view, along the cutout E of FIG. 5, of theconnection between a stiffener and a plate body structured in accordancewith one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7B is a sectional view, along the cutout D of FIG. 5, of theconnection between a flow control plate and a plate body structured inaccordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7C is a sectional view, along the cutout C of FIG. 5, of theconnection between a central, supplemental stiffener and a plate bodystructured in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operations of manufacturing aplate assembly performed in accordance with an example embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 9A is a graph showing the amount of deflection observed whenvarious weights are placed on the bottom of plate assemblies inaccordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure comparedto unitary plate assemblies;

FIG. 9B is another graph showing the amount of deflection observed whenvarious weights are placed on the bottom of plate assemblies inaccordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure comparedto unitary plate assemblies;

FIG. 10A is a graph showing the amount of deflection observed whenvarious weights are placed on the center of plate assemblies inaccordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure comparedto unitary plate assemblies; and

FIG. 10B is another graph showing the amount of deflection observed whenvarious weights are placed on the center of plate assemblies inaccordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure comparedto unitary plate assemblies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all,embodiments are shown. Indeed, various embodiments may be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Likereference numerals refer to like elements throughout. As used herein,the term “along” means near or on, but not necessarily requiringdirectly on, an edge. Additionally, the term “attachment surface” meansthe actual part of the plate body to which the support plates,stiffener, and/or flow control plate are attached. Further, the term“angled” refers to an angle between zero and 180 degrees. Thus, use ofany such terms should not be taken to limit the spirit and scope ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

A plate settler assembly may include a series of mutually parallel plateassemblies disposed therein. The plate assemblies may include a platebody on which solids in water may sediment and one or more framecomponents for structural support and/or controlling fluid flow. Withreference to FIG. 4, each plate assembly may comprise a plate body 405,which forms the primary settling surface, and at least one support plate420 disposed along a lateral edge of the plate body.

A plate settler assembly (e.g., plate settler assembly 100 shown in FIG.2) may comprise a plurality of plate assemblies forming a plurality ofmutually parallel channels through which fluid can flow. With referenceto FIG. 1, multiple plate settler assemblies may be combined to form aplate settler system in one or more clarifier basins 101. The channelsof the plate settler assembly may be defined between plate bodies ofadjacent plate assemblies, and may be laterally bounded by the at leastone support plate. As described herein, plate assemblies may bemanufactured individually and then placed together into each platesettler assembly. The plate settler assembly may then be placed into asystem of plate settler assemblies in a basin of a water treatmentfacility in order to increase the capacity of the systems. Duringoperation, liquid needing treatment may be passed through the channelsdefined by the separation of the plates. As the liquid flows through theplate settler assembly, solids in the water settle onto the adjacentplate body below and move along the incline of the plate body to thebottom of the plate settler assembly, while the liquid moves upward. Thesedimentation may then fall to the bottom of the clarifier basin forcollection (e.g., via suction or other removal means).

It was originally believed that the most efficient and effective way toproduce a plate settler was by forming the settling plates out of asingle piece of folded steel (e.g., each component of a plate integrallyformed by folding a single sheet). Folding a single sheet is thought bythe industry to be the most cost effective process as a unitarystructure reduces the number of steps required during manufacturing(e.g., all folding done by one folding machine). It was believed thebenefits of using one singular piece of material allowed for a strongercomposite plate assembly and therefore a stronger plate settler assemblywith a minimal number of construction steps. In addition to believingthat attaching side channels would create a weaker assembly structure,it was originally believed that it would be more costly and/or more timeconsuming to attach support features to the plate body described hereinthan have them formed integrally with the plate body. In thisconstruction method, both the loading from the additional plates and thefree-span solids loading are used to determine the minimum allowablematerial that can be used for plate construction. Since the plate bodyand side channels are formed from one piece of material, the thicknessof the plate body and the perpendicular sides are the same with thehighest load amount on the plate assembly dictating the requiredthickness.

Co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,850,860, which patent is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety, discloses a plate settler thatincludes “end plates” or “flanges” folded onto lateral edges of a“plate” for support. Although the '860 patent discloses alternativeembodiments in which the end plates comprise separate pieces, theinventors did not ascribe any benefit to this alternative embodiment orany variation or improvement upon the structure of the plates andconnected pieces that might improve the performance of these alternativeembodiments over the disclosed primary embodiments. The inventors of thepresent application have discovered that the structure and costeffectiveness of a plate settler assembly may be unexpectedly improvedvia the specific improvements and structural variations disclosedherein, and these improvements unexpectedly exceed the prevailingthought of those in the industry.

Conventional knowledge discounted and did not consider a separate designbecause the prevailing thought was that a plate assembly as describedand claimed herein would increase the cost of labor and manufacturingtime over a unitary plate assembly due to increasing the number of stepsrequired to manufacture one plate assembly. Those skilled in thesheet-metal arts had long maintained that unitary, folded devices arestronger and more cost-effective than separately assembled elements.However, the separate manufacturing of an example embodiment allows fora reduction in labor and manufacturing cost by eliminating the use of alarge folding machine, as is required in a unitary plate assembly, whichwould require 3 to 4 minutes per plate and multiple manual operators tomaintain, and instead may use, for example, an automated spot welderthat completes the welding process in about 30 seconds. For example,folding a large plate body, such as those described herein, with theprecise construction desired in a cost effective way may be difficultdue to the sheer size of plate assemblies and the large tolerances inplate folding machinery. Plate bodies with integral support plate(s) asdescribed herein would require folding of the plate body to form thesupport plates. The type of folding used to create integral plateassemblies, typically done using a foot operated machine that requiresmanual handling of the large, unwieldy plates, are often not precise toa desired level, are time consuming to handle and bend, and require highmanpower as multiple personnel may be required to effectively fold them.Moreover, it was believed that the resulting structure of the presentdisclosure would produce moderately weaker plates than a unitary design.In the process of developing the present inventions, the inventorsdiscovered both that a unitary design was unexpectedly inefficient tomanufacture and that the presently-claimed devices were unexpectedlystronger and more cost effective. The plate assembly as describedherein, while requiring more steps during the manufacturing process(e.g., each component is individually formed before being attached tothe plate body), unexpectedly reduces both the manufacturing time andcost, in addition to reducing the reliance on an imprecise foldingmethod described above, while also improving or maintaining the strengthof the plate assemblies. For example, an example embodiment of thepresent disclosure made from stainless steel using a 26 gauge platebody, two 24 gauge support plates, a 14 gauge flow control plate, and a16 gauge bottom stiffener resulted in a reduction in total cost of 15.3%(with a materials cost reduction of 16.3% and labor cost reduction of6.3%) and a weight reduction of 21.8% over the unitary plate designusing 26 gauge with a 14 gauge flow control plate.

The present disclosure provides various systems, apparatus, and methodsused to remove solids from water. For example, in some embodiments, aplate settler may be used to settle solids from wastewater in awastewater treatment facility. Plate settler assemblies may include aplurality of individual plate assemblies attached, directly orindirectly, to a frame to effectively remove solids from water (e.g.,the solids are suspended in the water). In some examples, singular platesettler assemblies may be disposed in a clarifier basin, such as thebasin 101 shown in FIG. 1, and water may be passed along the platesettler assemblies to remove and collect the solids at the bottom of thebasin. The plate settler assemblies provide a large combined surfacearea within a relatively small total volume via which solids may settleout of solution and be collected within the basin.

Due to the amount of plate assemblies in a plate settler assembly andtheir typical size, the materials cost of each plate body makes up asignificant proportion of the overall cost of the plate settlerassembly. For example, the materials cost of the plate body is generally60% to 80% of the total materials cost. Another expensive portion of aplate settler assembly is the material handling costs associated withshaping and forming each plate and the added transportation costsassociated with shipping a completed structure. As discussed above, itwas initially believed that the plate settler structures should beformed from a single piece of material where possible, such as theplates made according to the disclosure of the '860 patent. Consistentwith the current understanding in the industry, it was initiallybelieved that separately manufacturing the components of the plateassembly would be less efficient, more expensive, and more timeconsuming than folding the plate as a unitary member. However, asdiscussed above, the separate manufacturing process proved faster due tothe time consuming nature of folding the large plates and improvementsin spot welding technology. Folding a piece of material as large as aplate settler plate requires costly manufacturing equipment and risksproducing larger-than-acceptable variance between plates if not foldedprecisely, which is increased due to the requirement that humans need tomanually handle the sheets during the folding process. Separating themanufacturing of the components (e.g., each component being configuredindependently before attachment), in addition to improvements inautomated spot welding, allowed for an overall reduction in time andlabor cost to manufacture the separated plate assembly over the unitaryplate assembly.

Due to the size of the typical, unitary plate design, off-sitemanufacturing is required, coupled with the related shipping costs dueto the size and shape of the combined plate body and side channels. Someembodiments of the present, separate plate assembly allows for, but doesnot require, a portion of the manufacturing of plate assemblies to becompleted on-site (e.g., either the location the plate assemblies are tobe installed or nearby). For example, a company may ship an automatedwelding machine required for the manufacturing of an example embodimentof a plate assembly close to the final destination of the plateassemblies and the cost related to the on-site manufacturing would beoffset by the reduction in shipping costs. In such an example, theindividual components may still be formed before being shipped (e.g.,the folding of each component may be completed off-site and then theindividual components may be shipped separately before being weldedtogether). Alternatively, the manufacturing of the plate assembly maycontinue to be performed off-site and the cost of manufacturing willstill be reduced as detailed throughout and the cost of shipping may bereduced since the separately assembled plate assembly allows for areduction in weight without a reduction in strength over the current,unitary version. Therefore, embodiments discussed herein according tothe present disclosure allow for a novel plate assembly for a platesettler that includes a planar plate body with supporting structure(s)separately attached thereto to have a reduction in material, an increasein strength, more efficient structure, more cost-effectivemanufacturing, more precise manufacturing, more efficienttransportation, and on-site manufacturing.

In some embodiments, the plate assembly may have a plate body and atleast one support plate formed separately and attached thereto forsupporting the plate body. The plate body may form the primary settlingsurface for the solids in the water and may be the largest individualcomponent of each plate assembly. The plate body may be defined as aflat piece of material, such as stainless steel. Folding, especiallymanual folding on the scale necessary for the plate body, may be slowand costly. In some embodiments, attaching separate support plate(s) tothe plate body may eliminate the need to fold the plate body or handlethe relatively large size of the body, which may allow for more costeffective manufacturing, more precise manufacturing, more cost effectivetransportation, and a more resilient structure during transportation anduse. In various embodiments, the final welding of the plate assembliesand assembly of the plate settler assemblies may be performed on-site,which may reduce the shipping cost for a project. The freight cost oftransporting an assembled plate settler assembly can exceed severalhundred thousand dollars, whereas transporting the components (either asindividual pieces or smaller subassemblies) may allow for more compactand efficient shipping (e.g., individual components can be shippedindividually), resulting in a reduction in transportation cost.

In some embodiments, plate settler assemblies made according to thestructures and methods disclosed herein may show a decrease in cost andmaterials used because the plate body 405 may be thinner and can have adifferent thickness than the support plate(s) 420. An example embodimentallows for the surface area of a plate body to remain the same ascurrent plate assemblies with a reduction in materials required. Forexample, the plate body with a standard width of 54.5 inches and astandard length of 117 inches may be made out of thinner materialresulting in a 25% reduction in stainless steel. In some embodiments,such as shown in FIG. 4, the plate assembly 4000 may include one or moreof a stiffener 400, a central supplemental stiffener 510, or a flowcontrol plate 410 also attached to the plate body. A stiffener, forexample, may provide support for the plate body along a different axisfrom the support plate(s) (e.g., along a bottom edge of the plate in thecase of a bottom stiffener 400). Previously, it was believed thatreducing the overall materials used (e.g., the thickness of the platebody being reduced) would reduce the strength of the plate assembly.However, the resulting separately assembled plate assembly is strongerthan a similarly dimensioned unitary plate design (e.g., a plate bodyand supports folded from a single piece of sheet metal) in addition tobeing cheaper than the unitary plate design. The current industry beliefis that making a plate assembly out of one piece (e.g., an integrallyformed plate body and support plate(s) at a minimum) provided for astronger, more cost effective, and better plate assembly. Indeed,numerous specifications published by customers seeking plate settlersrequire a minimum of 24 gauge plates on the mistaken assumption thatthis is the thinnest possible material that can be used to retainsufficient structural rigidity; however, embodiments according to thepresent invention, as discussed herein, permit plate bodies of less than24 gauge (e.g., 26 gauge) to be used without reducing the strength ofthe plate assembly and, in some instances, actually increasing thestrength of the plate assembly. For example, plate assemblies accordingto the embodiments discussed herein may support 30 lb solids loadingevenly distributed over the plate, and may withstand a 15 lb point loadon the bottom edge without failing, buckling, yielding, or creating apermanent deformation. In such embodiments, once the 15 lb load isremoved, the plate may exhibit limited hysteresis.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, support plate(s) 420 aremade from separate pieces of material from the plate body 405, which maybe folded separately and subsequently attached to the body. Theinventors have discovered that having separately attached supportstructures (e.g., flow control plates, support plate(s) and/orstiffener) allows the support plate 420 to use a different thicknessthan the plate body 405. The support plate 420 may have a higherthickness than the plate body in some embodiments, which may allow theplate body 405 to be made from a thinner material than would haveotherwise been possible in an integral plate settler assembly, whileretaining a greater strength than the thinner material would lead one tobelieve. In some embodiments, a stiffener 400 may be attached to one endof the plate body to provide further structural support. In this manner,the support plate(s) 420 and/or stiffener 400 may be used to strengthenthe plate body 405 under loads. Because the plate body 405 makes up asignificant portion of the mass of the plate assembly, the inventorsalso discovered that a thinner plate body 405 resulted in an overallstronger plate assembly 4000, in part, due to a non-negligible reductionin weight. Additionally, the small surface area of the support plate(s)420 relative to the plate body allows for a reduction in material costseven when the support plate(s) 420 have a greater thickness than theplate body 405 and, in some embodiments, when the support plate(s) 420have a greater thickness than an integral support plate would be (e.g.,a support plate may be 22 gauge or 24 gauge, while the plate body may be26 gauge in embodiments of the present disclosure, while a unitary platemay be entirely made of 24 gauge steel). Since steel is often sold bythe square foot, the cost of the plate assembly can be determined bysquare foot (Width by Length) multiplied by the cost of the material persquare foot. Generally, the cost per square foot increases as thethickness increases. An example embodiment of the present disclosureallows for a reduction in the thickness of the plate body and thereforea reduction in price. For example, an example 54.5 inches by 117 inchesplate assembly using the separate plate assembly design reduces thematerial cost by about 15% over the unitary plate assembly.

As discussed in more detail below in reference to FIGS. 9A-10B, thisreduction in material comes without weakening the system, and mayactually strengthen the plate assembly 4000 relative to a unitaryembodiment. The decrease in thickness of materials used for the platebody 405 reduces the overall amount of material used, even with anincrease in thickness for the support plates 420 and the increase of thestiffener 400 (e.g., using 26 gauge steel instead of 24 gauge steel fora plate body may allow for a 25% reduction in weight). Generally, thethickness of the support plate(s) 420 and stiffener 400 (if applicable)may be inversely proportional to the thickness of the plate body 405(e.g., as the thickness of the plate body decreases, the thickness ofone or more of the support plate(s) 420 and/or stiffener 400 may beincreased as discussed herein).

The support plate(s) 420 and the plate body 405 may, in some instances,be manufactured off-site and shipped to the location of a useindependently of one another. In such cases, once both the supportplates and the plate bodies are on-site, they may be attached usingwelding, riveting, or the like. In some cases, the support plates may beattached off-site.

In addition to the reduction in manufacturing time and cost for theseparately assembly plate assembly design, the flexibility allowed bythe embodiments disclosed herein allows for a streamlining of themanufacturing process. For example, manual handling is often required toposition a sheet as large as the plate body 405 (e.g., an example platebody used for a unitary design has a 54.5 inches width (W) by 117 incheslength (L) and is made out of 22 to 24 gauge steel) in a sheet metalfolding tool. This manual handling (or even automatic variants of manualhandling) introduces significant manufacturing cost, significant safetyconcerns, and significant precision issues because of the scale of thework piece. Said differently, handling and folding a large sheet ofstainless steel may introduce a margin of error into the dimensions ofthe plate body 405 and/or support plate(s) 420. The inventors havediscovered that using a flat plate body with separately attachedcomponents avoids many of the handling and precision issues of anintegral plate assembly, by instead attaching smaller pieces thatrequire less sophisticated equipment (e.g., punch/press machines may beused instead of complex folding machines) to manufacture to the platebody, which may be conducted more safely, economically, precisely due tothe tolerances and costs of operating such machines.

With reference to FIG. 1, the plate assembly 4000 described in variousembodiments herein, may be used in combination with other plateassemblies, either of similar and/or different construction, to create aplate settler assembly 100. The plate settler assembly 100 may be usedeither alone as a plate settler assembly, such as shown in FIG. 2, orwith other similar plate settler assemblies together in a sedimentarybasin 101 of a water treatment facility 1000, such as shown in FIG. 1.For example, the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 uses four parallel platesettler assemblies, each comprising a plurality of plate assemblies heldwithin a frame (e.g., frame 110 shown in FIG. 2). In an exampleembodiment, with reference to FIG. 3, water with suspended solids isintroduced through the inlet holes 125 of the support plates 420 andthrough the bottom of the plate body 405. During operation, watertravels upwards through the inter-plate channel between two platebodies, said channel may be bounded by the one or more support plates ofone of the plate assemblies on one or both lateral sides of the channel.As the water travels upward, the solids within the water may separateonto the adjacent plate body below. The plate bodies are angled relativeto horizontal (e.g., such as angle γ shown in FIG. 2) to allow thesolids settled on the adjacent plate body to move downward until theyfall into the bottom of the basin for collection. The water may be runthrough multiple plate assemblies in order to remove all possiblesolids. Additionally, the number of plate settler assemblies used in awater treatment plant 1000 may be based on the amount of water thatneeds to be separated (e.g., more plate settlers allow more water to beseparated in a given amount of time).

Plate Assembly Structure

Example embodiments of the plate assembly 4000 may be structured andarranged in various ways according to the various embodiments disclosedherein. With reference to FIGS. 4-5, for example, the plate assembly4000 may include a plate body 405 and at least one support plate 420. Insome embodiments, support plates 420 may be disposed along oppositelateral edges 470, 480 of the plate body 405. In some embodiments, atleast one stiffener 400 may be attached to the plate body. In someembodiments, a flow control plate 410 may be provided. The structure ofthe plate assembly 4000 and the plate settler assembly 100 are discussedbelow.

Referring to FIG. 4, the plate body 405 is depicted which when combinedwith other portions of the plate assembly 4000 and installed into aplate settler assembly creates a primary settling surface for the solidsof the water being treated. In an example embodiment of a plate settlerassembly, the plate bodies of two adjacent plate assemblies (such as theplate assembly 4000 shown in FIG. 4) within a plate settler assembly(such as the plate settler assembly 100 shown in FIG. 2) may be alignedin such a way that an inter-plate channel is created between each platebody (e.g., an example inter-plate channel may be bounded by the platebody and two attached support plates of one plate assembly in additionto a plate body of the adjacent plate assembly). These plate bodies maybe parallel to one another (e.g., parallel within engineering andmanufacturing tolerances) within the plate settler assembly 100. In someembodiments, the support plate(s) 420 may define the spacing betweenplate bodies 405 in a plate settler assembly.

The plate body 405 may be defined as a flat piece of material, such asstainless steel. In some embodiments, the plate body 405 may define astandard thickness (also referred to as a “gauge”) corresponding to asheet of stock material supplied by a metal foundry. The plate bodythickness may be defined as the thickness between a first surface (e.g.,the reverse side of the visible planar surface in FIG. 4) and a secondsurface (e.g., the planar surface visible in FIG. 4) of the plate body.In some embodiments, the plate body 405 may be rectangular.

The plate body may define a first end 450 and a second end 460.Additionally, a first lateral edge 470 and a second lateral edge 480 ofthe plate body 405 may be defined on axes perpendicular to the first end450 or the second end 460 (e.g., perpendicular within engineering andmanufacturing tolerances). In some instances, the second end 460 maycorrespond to the lowermost end in the basin in an installed position,and the first end 450 may correspond to the uppermost end in the basinin an installed position. For example, a flow control plate 410 may beattached to the plate body 405 at or proximate to the first end 450, astiffener 400 may be attached to the plate body 405 at or proximate tothe second end 460, and/or a central stiffener 510 may be attached tothe plate body 405 at or proximate to the middle of the first end 450and second end 460 of the plate body.

In some embodiments, the material used for the plate body may include 22gauge to 28 gauge stainless steel sheets with the optimal platethickness being the minimum thickness required to support the desiredload parameters of the application. The thickness of the plate body maybe determined by the application the plate assembly is being used. Forexample, a wastewater application may use a thicker plate body towithstand the amount of solids suspended in the water. In someembodiments, the plate body may be cut to a specific shape (e.g. 54.5inches W by 117 inches L) without folding being necessary. In someembodiments, the plate body 405 may define a width corresponding to awidth of a sheet of stock material (e.g., 54.5 inches) and may be cut tolength from a roll of the stock material. The shape of the plate body405 is therefore flat, which allows for easier transportation with areduced possibility of damage during use (e.g., folded plate bodies aremore prone to failure due to the folding). In some embodiments, thethickness of the plate body 405 may be reduced relative to a unitaryplate assembly, while increasing or maintaining the supporting strengthof the support plate(s). Since the plate body is the largest and mostexpensive component of the plate assembly, a reduction in the thicknessof the plate body improves the cost effectiveness of the plate assembly.For example, in some embodiments, a unitary plate assembly (e.g., aplate assembly comprising one or more support plates and a plate bodymade from the same piece of folded material) may use 24 gauge steel,with a 26 gauge unitary plate body lacking sufficient structuralrigidity to function. However, in separately assembled embodiments, theplate body 405 may use thinner material than 24 gauge steel while stillretaining sufficient rigidity to operate in a water treatment system asdescribed herein.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, the support plate(s) 420 are each aseparate piece from the plate body 405. Having multiple, independentcomponents allows the support plate(s) 420 to be a different thicknessthan the plate body 405. The support plate 420 may be a folded piece ofmaterial (e.g., folded by stamping), creating two or more legs (e.g.,600, 610, and 620 shown in FIG. 6A and 6B), as discussed below.Alternatively, the support plate 420 may be two or more pieces ofmaterial attached together to form two or more legs, as discussed below.The fold of each support plate 420 may be along the length direction(e.g., folded along a longer axis of the plate shown as direction “L” inFIG. 4). In some embodiments, the support plate 420 may be designed towithstand a certain predetermined load including the weight of the plateitself, the weight of settled solids (e.g., settler solids may weigharound 30 lbs.), and the weight of other fluid and structural forcesduring operation (e.g., the weight of other plate assemblies in theplate settler assembly). The support plate may be a piece of sheet metal(e.g., stainless steel). In some embodiments, the support plate(s) maybe made using from 20 gauge to 24 gauge steel. In an example embodiment,the support plate(s) may be made using 20 gauge to 22 gauge steel. Forexample, the support plate(s) may be made using 22 gauge steel. In anexample embodiment, the support plate(s) may be made using 22 to 24gauge steel. For example, the support plate(s) may be made using 24gauge steel.

In some embodiments, each support plate 420 may be a folded piece ofsheet metal. The support plate(s) 420 may be made out of the samematerial (e.g., stainless steel) as the plate body. In some embodiments,the support plate may be designed to withstand more stress than theplate body during operation and may support and stiffen the plate bodyby having a higher thickness than the plate body. In some embodiments,the folds in the support plate(s) 420 may further increase the supportprovided. In some embodiments, the support plate(s) 420 may have twofolds, producing three surfaces, the upper surface (e.g., a first leg)may be used to attach the plate body to the support plate, the nextsurface (e.g., a second leg) may provide the correct spacing betweenplate bodies and creates the channel between stacked plates, the lastsurface (e.g., a third leg) sits on top of the plate assembly (e.g.,plate body) below and seals the channel formed by stacking the plates.Additionally, as discussed below, the small surface area of the supportplate relative to the plate body allows for a reduction in materialcosts when the support plate has a greater thickness than the plate body(e.g., a support plate may be 20 to 24 gauge, while the plate body maybe 26 gauge and the total quantity of material is decreased relative toa 24 gauge plate body). As discussed in more detail below in referenceto FIGS. 9A-10B, this reduction in material comes without weakening theindividual plate assemblies or the plate settler system. The separatelyassembled support plate(s) allows for a reduction in the overallmaterial used. For example, one embodiment of the plate assembly using a26 gauge steel plate body instead of 24 gauge steel results in a 25%reduction in weight in the overall plate assembly.

In some embodiments, the support plate(s) 420 may be manufacturedoff-site and shipped independently of the plate body. Therefore, onceboth the support plates and the plate bodies are on-site, they may beattached using welding, riveting, or the like. In some embodiments, thesupport plate(s) 420 may be spot welded onto the plate body 405 eitheron site or prior to shipping. In an automatic welding machine, the platebody 405 may be held stationary with minimal handling while the supportplate(s) 420 and/or additional structural components (e.g., flow controlplate 410, central stiffener 510, or stiffener 400) are positioned andwelded to the plate body. The support plate(s) 420 may be attached tothe plate body 405 along an edge between the first end 450 and thesecond end 460 of the plate body. In some cases, the support plate(s)420 may be attached off-site using riveting, welding, or the like. Themobility and manufacturing flexibility allowed by the present disclosurehelps to streamline the manufacturing process.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A and 6B, cross-sectional views of two supportplates 420 are provided attached to a plate body 405 in accordance withexample embodiments discussed herein. In the depicted embodiment, eachsupport plate has a first leg 600A, 600B, a second leg 610A, 610B, and athird leg 620A, 620B, each generally perpendicular to adjacent legs toform a C-shape. In some embodiments, one or more support plates may havetwo legs (e.g., such as legs 600A and 610A in FIG. 6A). In someembodiments, such as the one shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the supportplates may have three legs forming a C-shaped channel. The legs of eachsupport plate 420 may be integrally formed (e.g., a piece of materialfolded to form the support plate), such as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Insome embodiments where the legs are integrally formed, the folding maybe completed using a die on a press brake, which allows for animprovement in efficiency, accuracy, and reliability and a reduction incost over the folding methods used in the unitary plate assemblies.Alternatively, the legs may be folded using roll forming, which may bevery efficient but may have poorer part tolerances than die forming insome instances. In some embodiments, the plate support legs will allhave a uniform thickness. In some embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 6Aand 6B, one leg of the support plate (e.g., leg 600A in FIG. 6A and leg600B in FIG. 6B) may be attached to a surface of the plate body (e.g.,the second surface of the plate body 405 as shown, or the first surfaceof the plate body 405, not shown). In the depicted embodiment, the legs600A, 600B are attached to the upper, settling surface of the plate body405. In some embodiments, the legs 600A, 600B may be attached to thelower, opposite surface of the plate body 405, such that the plate body405 is disposed atop the support plates 420A, 420B relative to theorientation shown in FIGS. 6A-6B with the plate outside the channelformed by the support plates. In some embodiments, the lowermost legs(e.g., leg 620A of FIG. 6A and/or leg 620B of FIG. 6B) may contact asecond, adjacent plate body to create the channel discussed herein.

The length of the support plate may be based on the length of the platebody. As such, in some embodiments, the support plate and the plate bodymay be the same length (e.g., the length may be 117 inches when theplate body has a length of 117 inches). In other embodiments, thesupport plate may have a different length than the plate body. Invarious embodiments, the size of the second leg 610A, 610B may be basedon the desired size of the inter-plate channel and the force applied tothe support plate. For example, the width of the second leg 610A, 610Bmay effectively be the distance between each plate body when the plateassemblies 4000 are placed into a plate settler assembly 100.Alternatively, spacers may be used to extend the size of the inter-platechannel. The width of the second leg 610A, 610B may be based on thewater flow through the plate settler assembly and the desired flow rateto maximize sedimentation. In some embodiments, the majority of the loadmay be applied to the second leg 610A, 610B.

The first leg 600A, 600B and the third leg 620A, 620B, may have a widthbased on the load on the plate support. In an example embodiment of aplate settler assembly, each plate assembly may have a different secondleg width. The different second leg widths may be based on the desiredinter-plate channel size. In an example embodiment, the second legs ofthe support plates of a plate assembly in a plate settler assembly mayhave a width from 1.8 inches to 4 inches. For example, the second legsof the support plates of a plate assembly in a plate settler assemblymay be from 1.8 inches to 3 inches. In other embodiments, the secondlegs of the support plates of a plate assembly in a plate settlerassembly may have a width from 1.8 inches to 2 inches. For example, anexample embodiment of a plate assembly may have a support plate with asecond leg width of 1.8 inches. In other embodiments, the second legs ofthe support plates of a plate assembly in a plate settler assembly mayhave a width from 2 inches to 4 inches. For example, an exampleembodiment of a plate assembly may have a support plate with a secondleg width of 3 inches. In other embodiments, the second legs of thesupport plates of a plate assembly in a plate settler assembly may havea width from 2 inches to 3 inches. In other embodiments, the second legsof the support plates of a plate assembly in a plate settler assemblymay have a width from 3 inches to 4 inches. For example, an exampleembodiment of a plate assembly may have a support plate with a secondleg width of 4 inches. In some embodiments, the first and third legs maybe a uniform size (e.g. 1 inch). In other embodiments, the first andthird legs may have different widths within a plate assembly and/orbetween plate settler assemblies. In some embodiments, the thickness ofthe support plate may be affected by the length of one or more legs. Forexample, the support plate thickness may be from 20 gauge to 24 gauge.

With reference to FIG. 3, the support plate(s) 420 may have one or moreinlet holes 125 to allow water to enter the inter-plate channel definedbetween plate bodies. In some embodiments the water may also enter theinter-plate channel from the bottom of the plate settler assembly. Theseinlet ports 125 may be defined in one or more of the support plates 420proximate the second end 460 of the plate settler assembly. The amountand size of the inlet ports may be adjusted based on the desired flowrate of the water. In some embodiments, there may be 5 holes. In anexample embodiment, the holes may be circular or oval. These holes maybe equal sizes. In some embodiments, the holes are evenly spaced apart.In an example embodiment, the holes may be 3.375 inches apart from oneanother.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 4-5, a stiffener 400 may beprovided along the edge at the second end 460 of the plate body 405. Thestiffener 400 may be attached at or proximate the second end 460 of theplate body 405 and may be disposed parallel to the edge at the secondend 460 of the plate body 405. A stiffener 400 may be used in theembodiments disclosed herein to provide additional support to the platebody 405 and plate settler assembly 100. In some embodiments, thestiffener 400 may be disposed on the opposite surface of the primarysettling area of the plate body. This stiffener 400 may support theplate body 405 along a width axis of the plate body 405 (e.g., in thewidth (W) direction of the plate body).

As stated throughout, it was believed that a unitary plate assembly wasthe most efficient way to create a plate assembly, and in someembodiments, “hemming” (e.g., folding) the bottom of the plate body 405one or more times may be used to create a structural support. In someembodiments discussed herein, a separate stiffener 400 may be welded toa separate plate body to provide more support for the plate body 405than a hemmed bottom and to provide more flexibility and durabilityduring the transportation and installation process. For example, ahemmed bottom is susceptible to permanent deformation and damage becausea single crease (e.g., caused by loading the plate body) may cause thehem to lose structural integrity. A separately-attached stiffener may bemade of thicker material (e.g., a stiffener may be made out of 16-18gauge steel in some embodiments) and may be less likely to crease orotherwise permanently deform when welded to the plate body.

Referring now to FIG. 7A, a close-up view of cutout E in FIG. 5, thestiffener may be a folded piece of material. In some embodiments, thestiffener may be a folded piece of sheet metal (e.g., stainless steel).The stiffener 400 may define a first leg 700 and a second leg 710. Eachof the first leg 700 and the second leg 710 may have a length of 1 inchto 2 inches. In some embodiments, the first leg 700 and the second leg710 may be the same length. For example, in a preferred embodiment, thelegs 700, 710 may each have a length of 1 inch and the stiffener may beformed from 16 gauge stainless steel. Alternatively, the first leg 700and the second leg 710 may have different lengths. In some embodiments,the width of the stiffener may be based on the width of the plate body405 (e.g., the stiffener width may be equal to or less than the width ofthe plate body 405). The fold of the stiffener may be completed using adie on a press brake. Alternatively, the fold of the stiffener may becompleted using roll forming. In various embodiments, the stiffener maybe from 10 gauge to 20 gauge in thickness. In an example embodiment, thestiffener thickness may be 16 gauge. The thickness of the stiffener 400may be greater than the thickness of the plate body 405. In someembodiments, the stiffener 400 may have a greater thickness than thesupport plate(s) 420. In some embodiments, the stiffener may be onepiece of sheet metal doubled onto itself before being fold (e.g., athinner sheet metal, such as 22 gauge, may be folded onto itself one ormore times to create a thicker stiffener, in this example a doubled over22 gauge sheet would be a similar thickness as a single 16 gauge sheetmetal).

The stiffener 400 defines an angle a between the first leg 700 andsecond leg 710, which are either integrally formed or attached to oneanother. The angle a defined between the first leg 700 and the secondleg 710 may be greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees. In someembodiments, the angle defined between the first and the second leg isgreater than 90 degrees. In some embodiments, the angle a between thefirst leg and the second leg may be at or approximately 145 degrees. Insome embodiments, the angle a between the first leg and the second legmay be at or approximately 135 degrees. In some embodiments, the angleof the stiffener may correspond to the angle of the plate body 405 whenplaced into the final plate settler assembly 100, such that the secondleg 710 points directly downward during use. The angle may be based onthe desired rigidity of the stiffener (e.g., a smaller angle may providemore rigidity), and/or may be based on the flow characteristics throughthe inter-plate channels. The length of the stiffener 400 (e.g., thelongitudinal dimension of the stiffener along the widthwise axis of theplate body) may be equal to or less than the width (W) of the plate body405. In some embodiments, the length of the stiffener may be determinedby the width of the plate body 405 (e.g., the stiffener may be 54.5inches long when the plate body is 54.5 inches wide). In someembodiments, the stiffener 400 may be shorter than the width (W) of theplate body (e.g., the stiffener may only be provided along the middle ofthe plate body). In some embodiments, the stiffener 400 may be attachedto the plate body 405 (e.g., attached through welding, riveting, or thelike). In some embodiments, the stiffener 400 may be attached to theplate body 405 via an automatic welding machine as described herein. Insome embodiments, the stiffener 400 may be attached to an oppositesurface of the plate body 405 from the support plate(s) 420 to avoidinterference between the components. In a preferred embodiment, thestiffener 400 may be attached to a surface opposite the settling surfaceof the plate body. In some embodiments, the stiffener may be formed fromthe primary plate body 405 (e.g., folded from the second end 460). FIG.7A shows an optional broken line 422 indicating that the second end 460of the support plates 420 may terminate short of, at, or past thestiffener 400 or the bend in the stiffener may be disposed at the secondend in accordance with various embodiments (e.g., the stiffener may bepositioned in various locations relative to the end of the supportplates). As shown by the broken line 422, in some embodiments, thesupport plate(s) 420 may optionally extend to either end or beyond thesecond leg 710 of the stiffener 400. The first leg 700 of the stiffener400 may be attached higher on the plate body 405, such that the supportplate(s) 420 extends beyond the second leg 710 of the stiffener 400.

In various embodiments, the support plate 420, the stiffener 400, andthe plate body 405 may be spot welded together on each end of thestiffener 400 (e.g., in the corners of the plate assembly). For example,the plate body 405 may be sandwiched between the support plate 420 ontop and the stiffener 400 on the bottom at each end of the stiffener400. The stiffener 400 may define a length equal to the width of theplate body 405 such that the stiffener 400 contacts or is disposedadjacent the support plates 420 at either end.

As shown in FIG. 5, a flow control plate 410 may also be provided alongthe edge of the first end 450 of the plate body. The flow control plate410 may define, in combination with the flow control plates of otherplate assemblies, a headloss control gap. The flow control plate may bea folded piece of sheet metal (e.g., stainless steel). In a preferredembodiment, the flow control plate 410 may be made out of at least 14gauge steel. In some embodiments, the flow control plate 410 may be madeout of steel thicker than 14 gauge steel. The flow control plate 410 maybe the thickest component in the plate assembly 4000. In someembodiments, the flow control plate 410 may be used to support theweight of walking while the plate assemblies are being cleaned. The flowcontrol plate 410 may be used to stiffen the first end 450 and supportthe plate body within the frame assembly. Additionally, the flow controlplate 410 may function as a flow restriction to ensure even flow throughthe entire plate settler assembly.

Referring now to FIG. 7B, a close-up view of cutout D of FIG. 5, theflow control plate 410 may have a first leg 730 and a second leg 720.The flow control plate may be one integrally formed member (e.g., onepiece folded) or multiple pieces (e.g., two pieces welded together). Thefirst leg 730 and second leg 720 are oriented at an angle βrelative toeach other. This angle may be between 0 degrees and 180 degrees (e.g.,the angle βmay be approximately 90 degrees, such as shown in FIG. 7B).The width of the second leg of the flow control plate may be less thanthe width of the second leg of the support plate, which defines anopening between the flow control plate and the adjacent plate assembly.The opening allows for water to pass through the opening and transferbetween different plate assemblies in the plate settler assemblies.

In some embodiments, the length of the flow control plate 410 mayapproximately the same as the width of the plate body 405. In such anembodiment. the support plate 420, the flow control plate 410, and theplate body 405 may be spot welded together at each end of the flowcontrol plate 410. For example, in the depicted embodiment of FIG. 7B,at either end of the flow control plate 410, the support plate 420 maybe sandwiched between the first leg 730 of the flow control plate 410 ontop and the main plate 405 on the bottom. In such an arrangement, theflow control plate 410 and the plate body 405 may be attached (e.g.,spot welded together) along the flow control plate 410 at locationswhere the support plate does not extend (e.g., greater than the width ofthe first leg 600A, 600B of the support plate 420 inward of the outeredges), such that the plate body 405 may flex at least slightly upwardlyto weld to the flow control plate 410 in an instance in which thesupport plates 420 are sandwiched between the flow control plate 410 andthe plate body 405 at each end of the flow control plate 410.

In some embodiments, the plate assembly 4000 may include the plate body405 and at least one support plate(s) 420. In some embodiments, thestiffener 400 may also be attached to the plate body 405. In someembodiments, a flow control plate 410 may also be attached to the platebody 405. In some embodiments, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, theplate assembly 4000 may include the plate body 405, two support plates420 disposed along opposite lateral edges 470, 480 of the plate body405, an flow control plate 410 disposed along a first end 450 of theplate body 405, a central stiffener 510 disposed between the first end450 and the second end 460 of the plate body 405, and/or a stiffener 400disposed along a second end 460 of the plate body 405.

In some embodiments, the support plate(s) 420 may have a greaterthickness than the plate body 405. In some embodiments using a stiffener400, the stiffener 400 may have a greater thickness than the plate body405. In some embodiments using a stiffener 400, the stiffener 400 mayhave a greater thickness than the plate body 405 and the supportplate(s) 420. In some embodiments, the stiffener 400 may be thicker thaneach support plate(s) 420, and each support plate(s) 420 may be thickerthan the plate body 405. In some embodiments using a flow control plate410, the flow control plate 410 may be thicker than the stiffener 400,the plate body 405, and/or the support plate(s). For example, the platebody 405 may be made using 26 gauge sheet metal, while the supportplate(s) 420 may be made using 24 gauge sheet metal. In someembodiments, the plate body 405 may be enabled to be less than 24 gauge(e.g., thinner than 24 gauge) by the embodiments and componentsdescribed herein. In some embodiments, the plate body 405 may be 26gauge or thinner. In some embodiments, the plate body 405 may be 28gauge or thinner. In some embodiments, a central stiffener 510 may bethicker than the plate body 405 and the support plate(s). In someembodiments, the central stiffener 510 may be the same thickness as thestiffener 400. In some embodiments, the central stiffener 510 may bethinner than the stiffener 400 and thicker than the plate body (e.g., a22-24 gauge central stiffener, a 16-18 gauge stiffener, and a 26-28gauge plate body). In some embodiments, a central stiffener 510 may beused in wastewater applications in which the potential loading may begreater than other applications. In some embodiments, one or more of thestiffener 400, the central stiffener 510, the support plate(s) 420, andthe flow control plate 410 (in each case, if used in the particularembodiment) may be thicker than a unitary plate assembly plate, and theplate body 405 may be thinner than a unitary plate assembly plate, withcomparably sufficient strength between the two embodiments.

In an example embodiment, such as the one shown in FIG.4, where theplate assembly 4000 has a plate body 405, two support plates 420A, 420B,a flow control plate 410, and a stiffener 400, the plate body may becompletely encircled by these components. In such a case, all bucklingconsiderations that would be applied to the plate body in a unitaryplate assembly, are transferred to the other components, such as thestiffener, in the separately assembled plate assembly. Such aconfiguration of the plate assembly 4000 allows the minimum thickness ofthe plate body 405 to be determined independent of the vertical loadconsiderations and therefore the plate body only has to withstand theload due to gravity the settled solids during usage (e.g., the weight ofthe settled solids may be 30 lbs.). Since the other components, such asthe support plate(s), the control flow plate, and/or the stiffener,encircle the plate body, the configuration may allow for a reduction inthe thickness of the plate body relative to a unitary (e.g., folded)plate assembly. For example, in some embodiments, a unitary plateassembly (e.g., a plate assembly comprising one or more support platesand a plate body made from the same piece of folded material) may use 24gauge steel, with a 26 gauge unitary plate body lacking sufficientstructural rigidity to function. In separately assembled embodiments,such as those discussed herein, the plate body 405 may use thinnermaterial than 24 gauge steel while still retaining sufficient rigidityto operate in a water treatment system as described herein. In someembodiments, the central stiffener 510 may provide lateral supportthereby allowing a reduction in the required thickness of the plate body405. The present inventors have discovered that this benefit mayunexpectedly outweigh a perceived detriment that a separately assembledplate assembly would be prohibitively expensive and time consuming tomanufacture, and that a thinner plate body does not necessarily cause aweaker plate assembly overall, as shown below.

Referring now to FIG. 7C, in some embodiments, a central stiffener 510may be attached to a plate body 405 between the first end 450 and thesecond end 460 and substantially spanning a width of the plate body(e.g., the central stiffener 510 may be in the middle of the first end450 and second end 460 of the plate body) in addition to, or instead of,the stiffener 400 attached at the second end of the plate body. In someembodiments, a central stiffener 510, such as the one shown in FIG. 7Cmay be positioned along the lengthwise center of the plate body 405(e.g., parallel to at least one of the first end 450 or second end 460at or proximate to a midpoint between ends). The central stiffener 510may be attached (e.g., via spot welding) to the underside of the platebody 405 relative to an operational position of the plate. In someembodiments, the central stiffener 510 and the stiffener 400 may combineto provide additional structural support allowing further reduction inthe plate body thickness (e.g., a 28 gauge plate or thinner). In someembodiments, as shown in FIG. 7C, the central stiffener 510 may have oneor more legs. In some embodiments, the central stiffener 510 may beconfigured with a plurality of folds creating three or more legs (e.g.,the central stiffener 510 may have three folds and four legs (706, 707,708, and 709) as shown in FIG. 7C). In some embodiments, one or more ofthe legs may be attached to and parallel to the underside of the platebody 405 (e.g., FIG. 7C shows two legs 706, 709 being attached tounderside of the plate body). For example, in the depicted embodiment,the center stiffener 510 may define two attachment legs 706, 709configured to lie parallel to and engage (e.g., via welding) the platebody, with two stiffening legs 707, 708 forming a raised ridge betweenthe attachment legs.

In some embodiments, one or more of the legs of the central stiffener(e.g., stiffening legs 707, 708) may not be parallel with the plate body405 and said one or more legs may define an angle between the plate bodyand the respective leg of greater than 0 degrees and less than 90degrees relative to the plate body (e.g., in the embodiment shown inFIG. 7C, both the second leg 707 and 708 extend from the plate body 405facing each other at acute angles). In an example embodiment with twolegs extending non-parallel with the plate body 405, the two legs may beattached to one another at a ridge. In such an embodiment, the two legsnot parallel to the plate body may have an angle φ defined that may begreater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees. For example, the angleφ may be 67 degrees. The angle may be based on the desired rigidity ofthe central stiffener 510 (e.g., a smaller angle may provide morerigidity), and/or may be based on the flow characteristics through theinter-plate channels to minimize interference with the flow in thechannel. The length of the central stiffener 510 (e.g., the longitudinaldimension of the central stiffener along the widthwise axis of the platebody) may be equal to or less than the width (W) of the plate body 405.In some embodiments, the length of the central stiffener 510 may bedetermined by the width of the plate body 405 (e.g., the centralstiffener 510 may be 54.5 inches long when the plate body is 54.5 incheswide). In some embodiments, the central stiffener 510 may be shorterthan the width (W) of the plate body (e.g., the central stiffener mayonly be provided along the middle of the plate body). In someembodiments, the central stiffener 510 may be attached to the plate body405 (e.g., attached through welding, riveting, or the like). In someembodiments, the central stiffener 510 may be attached to the plate body405 via an automatic welding machine as described herein.

In an example embodiment, the one or more legs not parallel to the platebody may extend a perpendicular distance (H) from the plate body. Insome embodiments, the perpendicular distance H may be greater than 0 andsubstantially less than the second leg of the support plate(s) (e.g.,shorter than the height of the channel). For example, the perpendiculardistance H may be 0.25 inches. A larger perpendicular distance Hincreases the flow restriction in the channel caused by the centralstiffener. In some embodiments, a central stiffener with a channelrestriction area (e.g., the H times the length of the central stiffener)of less than 12% of the total channel flow area may allow for anincrease in strength without substantially deteriorating the performanceof the plate settler assembly.

The fold(s) of the central stiffener 510 may be completed using a die ona press brake. Alternatively, the fold(s) of the central stiffener 510may be completed using roll forming. In various embodiments, the centralstiffener 510 may be from 10 gauge to 24 gauge in thickness. In anexample embodiment, the central stiffener 510 thickness may be 22-24gauge. The thickness of the central stiffener 510 may be greater thanthe thickness of the plate body 405. In some embodiments, the centralstiffener 510 may have a greater or equal thickness to the supportplate(s) 420. In some embodiments, the central stiffener 510 may be onepiece of sheet metal doubled onto itself before being folded (e.g., athinner sheet metal may be folded onto itself one or more times tocreate a thicker center stiffener).

Referring now to FIG. 2, a plurality of individual plate assemblies 4000may be grouped together to create a plate settler assembly 100. In anexample embodiment, such as the one shown in FIG. 2, each plate assemblymay be placed in a frame 110 at an angle γ relative to horizontal thatmay help to support the plate assemblies. In some embodiments, the widthof the plate assembly may be 1/16 of an inch less than an internal widthof the frame 110. The plate assemblies may rest against one another, ascan be seen in more detail in FIG. 3, with the first and last plateassembly being supported by the corresponding end plates 460, 470. Thenumber of plate assemblies in a plate settler assembly may be determinedby the desired use of the plate settler assembly.

Example Test Data

With reference to FIGS. 9A-10B, test results comparing a unitary platewith an assembled plate of varying component thickness are shown. Theunitary plate assembly (labeled with circles in the depicted plot)included a plate body, two support plates, and a hemmed edge at thebottom of the plate folded at an angle integrally formed out of a sheetof 24 gauge steel. The unitary plate assembly also had a 14 gauge flowcontrol plate attached to the plate body.

The separately assembled plate assembly, made in accordance with anexample embodiment of the present disclosure, had a plate body made froma sheet of 26 gauge steel, two support plates made from a sheet of 24gauge steel attached to the plate body via spot welding, a flow controlplate made out of 14 gauge steel attached to the plate body via spotwelding, and a stiffener made from a sheet of 16 gauge steel alsoattached to the plate body via spot welding. The weight and cost of theseparately assembled plate assembly were less than that of the unitaryplate assembly.

As a part of the test, both plate assemblies were placed at a 55 degreeangle (e.g., 55 degree incline relative to a horizontal plane) with thesecond end of the plate assembly comprising the stiffener being thelowermost end. A variable weight was provided at the widthwise center ofthe plate, with the load increasing over time. The deflection of eachplate assembly was measured by a dial indicator at the center of eachplate (center of length and width) and the bottom of each plate (centerof the width and at the second end). The deflection at the bottom ofeach plate is shown in FIG. 9A. The deflection at the center of eachplate is shown in FIG. 10A. During testing, the first point of failurewas typically on the bottom portion of the plate assembly near thebottom end.

Referring now to FIG. 9A, the recorded deflection at the bottom of eachplate assembly is shown as the load was increase from 0 to 25 pounds(lbs.). The separately assembled plate assemblies of the presentdisclosure are shown by the triangles, while the unitary plateassemblies are shown as the circles. Before any weight is applied, theseparately assembled plate assemblies have less deflection, showing thatthe plate assemblies of the present disclosure deflect less than aunitary plate assembly, even before a weight is added. Additionally, asthe load increases, the recorded deflections in the unitary plateassemblies are consistently and significantly higher than the recordeddeflections of the separately assembled plate assembly.

Referring now to FIG. 9B, additional test results from another exampleillustrate the plate deflection of two example embodiments as comparedto a unitary test embodiment. As shown, both the first separatelyassembled plate with a 16 gauge stiffener 400 with a first leg 700length of 1 inch, a second leg length of 1 inch, and an alpha angle of145 degrees (represented by the squares on the graph) and the secondseparately assembly plate with a 16 gauge stiffener 400 with a first leg700 length of 1 inch, a second leg length of 1.25 inches, and an alphaangle of 135 (represented by the triangles on the chart) deflect lessthan the unitary plate assembly, particularly as the load increases from0 to 40 lbs. As shown, the second separately assembled plate assemblydeflects less than the first separately assembled plate assembly as theload is increased.

Referring now to FIG. 10A, the plate assemblies of the presentdisclosure perform equal to or better than the unitary plate assemblieswhen measured at the center of the plate, with the average deflectionbeing in line with the unitary plate assembly as the load increase from0 to 35 lbs. At the center of the plate, there is no supportingcomponent provided to the plate body 405; however, the separatelyassembled plate assembly, even with a thinner plate body, has allowedfor substantially the same deflection as the unitary embodiment anddecreased deflection at higher loads. Referring now to FIG. 10B, anothertesting of the deflection at the center of the plate assemblies areshown with less deflection at the center of the separately assembledplate as the force is increased from 0 to 40 lbs. compared to theunitary plate assembly. As shown, as the load increases, the rate ofdeflection is less for the separately assembled plate assembly than theunitary plate assembly.

Method of Manufacture

Referring now to FIG. 8, the operations of manufacturing a plateassembly 4000 according to an example embodiment are depicted. At block800, a plate body 405 is provided with a defined first end 450 andsecond end 460 of the plate body. In accordance with some embodiments,the plate body also includes a first surface and a second surface whichdefines a thickness of the plate body. The plate body 405 may be a flatsheet of material, such as stainless steel as described herein. The sizeof the flat sheet may be based on the desired size of the plateassembly. In some cases, the plate body may be cut to a desired size. Inother cases, the plate body may be a standard sheet metal size, which,in turn, reduces manufacturing costs.

As shown in Block 810 of FIG. 8, a first support plate 420 is attachedto the plate body 405 on a first axis extending between the first end450 and the second end 460 of the plate body. The first support plate isattached along a first lateral edge 470 of the plate body between thefirst end 450 and the second end 460 of the plate body. In an exampleembodiment, the first leg of the support plate is attached to onesurface of the plate body (e.g., the first surface or the secondsurface) along the first lateral edge 470. The attachment may be bywelding, riveting, or other attachment methods. In an exampleembodiment, the support plate may be attached to the plate body using anautomated spot welder. In some embodiments, the support plate may beattached by one of the attachment methods on-site where the plateassembly is to be installed. In such embodiments, the method maycomprise transporting the components separately to the job site prior toinstallation.

As shown in optional Block 820 of FIG. 8, a second support plate 420 isattached to the plate body 405 on a second axis extending between thefirst end 450 and the second end 460 of the plate body. The secondsupport plate may be attached along a second lateral edge 480 of theplate body between the first end 450 and the second end 460 of the platebody. The second support plate may be substantially perpendicular to thefirst end 450 and second end 460 of the plate body 405. The secondsupport plate may also be substantially parallel with the first supportplate. The second support plate (e.g., the second leg) may be attachedto the same surface as the first support plate along the second lateraledge 480 of the plate body. The second support plate may be attached insubstantially the same ways that the first support plate may beattached, as discussed above.

As shown in optional Block 830 of FIG. 8, a stiffener 400 is attached tothe plate body 405 on a third axis extending between the first lateraledge 470 and the second lateral edge 480. The stiffener may be parallelto the first end 450 and the second end 460 of the plate body. In someembodiments, the stiffener may be attached along the second end 460 ofthe plate body. The stiffener may be attached by riveting, welding, orother attachment methods. In an example embodiment, the stiffener may beattached to the plate body using an automated spot welder. The stiffenermay be positioned with a longitudinal dimension perpendicular to thefirst and the second support plates. The stiffener may be on theopposite surface of the plate body to the surface of the plate assemblythat acts as the primary settling area (e.g., to avoid obstructing thecollected solids from moving down and off of the primary settlingassembly). In an example embodiment, the first leg 700 of the stiffener400 may be attached to the plate body 405. Due to the angle a of thestiffener, the second leg 710 of the stiffener may also extend below theplate body. In such an example, the angle formed between the bottom ofthe plate body (or support plate) and the second leg may correspond tothe desired angle, such as the angle γ shown in FIG. 2, of the platesettler assembly (e.g., so that the second leg is substantiallyperpendicular to the ground when placed into a plate settler assembly).

As shown in optional Block 840 of FIG. 8, a central stiffener 510 may beattached to the plate body 405 on the third axis extending between thefirst lateral edge 470 and the second lateral edge 480. In someembodiments, the central stiffener may be used in addition to thestiffener 400. The central stiffener 510 may be attached at or near thecenter between the first end 450 and the second end 460 of the platebody 405. The central stiffener 510 may be attached to the underside ofthe plate body 405. The central stiffener 510 may be attached byriveting, welding, or other attachment methods. In an exampleembodiment, the central stiffener 510 may be attached to the plate bodyusing an automated spot welder. In some embodiments, the centralstiffener 510 may be configured to obstruct as little flow of water aspossible between the adjacent plate bodies. For example, the surfacearea of the central stiffener may define a cross-sectional area of 12%or less of the total channel cross-sectional area. In some embodiments,the central stiffener may comprise multiple legs attached to the platebody (e.g., as shown in FIG. 7C, the central stiffener may have two legsspot welded to the plate body). The central stiffener 510 may be foldedfrom sheet metal (e.g., 22-24 gauge stainless steel sheet metal).

As shown in optional Block 850 of FIG. 8, a flow control plate 410 maybe attached to the plate body 405 such that the flow control plate 410extends from and structurally supports the first end 450 of the platebody 405. The flow control plate may be parallel to the first end 450and the second end 460 of the plate body. The flow control plate may beattached along the first end 450 of the plate body. The flow controlplate may be parallel to the stiffener in embodiments where both areprovided. Additionally, the flow control plate may be perpendicular tothe first support plate and the second support plate, if provided. Theflow control plate may be attached, as shown in FIG. 7B, on the oppositesurface of plate body that the stiffener is attached. In a preferredembodiment, the stiffener is attached to an underside of the plate bodyopposite the primary settling surface. The attachment of the flowcontrol plate may be using riveting, welding, or other attachmentmethods. In some embodiments, the second leg 720 of the flow controlplate may be substantially perpendicular to plate body (e.g.,perpendicular within a typical engineering tolerances). In variousembodiments, the flow control plate is positioned in a way that, when aplate assembly is placed into a plate settler assembly beside anotherplate assembly, water may be able to pass between the second leg of theflow control plate and the adjacent plate assembly. The exact size ofthe opening may be based on the desired flow rate of the plate settlerassembly.

In some embodiments, the attachment method of all of the componentsabove to the plate body may be the same (e.g., all components are weldedto the plate body, such as by an automatic spot welder). In otherembodiments, different components may use different attachment methods(e.g., the flow control plate may be riveted to the plate body, whilethe support plate(s) and the stiffener are welded to the plate body).Some components may be attached remotely and some may be attachedon-site.

In some embodiments, the components described herein as a certain gaugeor thickness may be made of multiple layers that collectively define theprescribed thickness. For example, a support plate having a gauge of 24may actually be made of multiple, thinner sheets either folded from asingle sheet or layered as separate sheets while still being considereda 24 gauge sheet. Similarly, although the support plate may be describedas thicker than the plate body in some embodiments, the support platemay be made from a plurality of layers which individually are thinnerthan the plate body, but collectively are thicker than the plate body,without departing from the “thicker” description herein.

Associated Methods

Referring back to FIG. 2, plate assemblies 4000 may be placed togetherinto a plate settler assembly 100. The multiple plate assemblies 4000may each have a plate body 405 with a settling surface area, and theplate assemblies may be placed together at an angle γ for water to flowthrough and solids in the water to settle on the plates during thetravel. The angle of installation for an example embodiment may be basedon the desired flow rate of the water through the plate settlerassembly. For example, in some embodiments the angle of installation maybe between 40 degrees and 75 degrees. In an example embodiment, theangle of installation may be 55 degrees.

Referring back to FIG. 3, a close-up view of the plate settler assembly100 of FIG. 2 is provided. In FIG. 3, the bottom potion of a group ofexample plate assemblies in the plate settler assembly are shown. Insuch an example, each plate assembly supports the one above it, whilethe plate assembly at the end is supported by the first end plate 460and underlying frame structure. More generally, all of the plateassemblies are also supported by the frame 110, as shown in FIG. 2. Thenumber of plate assemblies in a plate settler assembly depends on thedesired amount of inter-plate channels for the water to be transported.In some embodiments, a greater number of inter-plate channels allows formore solids in the water to settle as there are more passes completed bythe water traveling through the plate settler assembly. The individualplate settler assemblies may be placed in concert with other platesettler assemblies to allow for a larger amount of water may be treated.

As shown in FIG.1, multiple plate settler assemblies may be placedtogether into a treatment basin 101, such as at a water treatment plant1000. In some water treatment plants, there may be 10,000 plateassemblies or more configured in multiple plate settler assemblies.Example embodiments of the present disclosure would allow forsignificant reduction in material cost and labor cost (e.g., 25%reduction in materials per plate assembly) both on the individual plateassembly scale and on the large scale of water treatment plants. In someembodiments, the dimensions of each plate assembly, either length,width, or both, may remain the same (e.g., a standard size is 54.5 inchwidth by 117 inch length) and a reduction in material cost would resultfrom the reduction in plate body thickness needed. For example, asdiscussed above, the plate assemblies of the present disclosure may beused as replacement plates for an existing water treatment system (e.g.,the new plate assemblies may have the same dimensions along the lengthand width direction as an existing plate assembly, but with a thinnerplate body).

Various embodiments of the components used in the present disclosurewere described using thicknesses of metal. However, one skilled in theart would understand that different materials may be used for one ormore components of an example embodiments. In such embodiments, thethickness of the material may be based on the relative strength of saidmaterial (e.g., an alternative material may be the thickness that wouldprovide the same support as the thickness and material of a metaldiscussed herein).

In various embodiments, the plate assemblies 4000 of the presentdisclosure can be effectively used in any lamella clarifierapplications. As described above, FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of themethod of manufacturing the plate assembly 4000 according to an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure. As such, certain ones of theoperations above may be modified or further amplified. Furthermore, insome embodiments, additional optional operations may be included.Modifications, additions, or amplifications to the operations above maybe performed in any order and in any combination.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseinventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associateddrawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain examplecombinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated thatdifferent combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided byalternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appendedclaims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elementsand/or functions than those explicitly described above are alsocontemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

That which is claimed:
 1. A plate assembly for a plate settler, the plate assembly comprising: a plate body made from sheet metal defining a first end and a second end, the plate body comprising a first surface and a second surface each extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the plate body defines a plate body thickness between the first surface and the second surface; and a first support plate made from sheet metal attached to the plate body on a first axis extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the first support plate is configured to support the plate body along at least a direction of the first axis, wherein the first support plate defines a first support plate thickness; and wherein the first support plate thickness is greater than the plate body thickness.
 2. The plate assembly of claim 1, further comprising a second support plate attached to the plate body on a second axis extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the second support plate is configured to support the plate body along at least a direction of the second axis, wherein the second support plate defines a second support plate thickness, and wherein the second support plate thickness is greater than the plate body thickness.
 3. The plate assembly of claim 2, wherein the first axis is parallel to the second axis.
 4. The plate assembly of claim 2, wherein the plate body further defines a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge each extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the first support plate is attached to the plate body along the first lateral edge, and wherein the second support plate is attached to the plate body along the second lateral edge.
 5. The plate assembly of claim 4, wherein the first support plate is attached to the second surface of the plate body along the first lateral edge.
 6. The plate assembly of claim 5, wherein the second support plate is attached to the second surface of the plate body along the second lateral edge.
 7. The plate assembly of claim 1, wherein the first support plate comprises a first leg and a second leg defining a first intersection therebetween, wherein the first intersection is disposed on the first axis, wherein the first leg comprises an attachment surface configured to attach to the plate body, and wherein the first leg is angled relative to the second leg.
 8. The plate assembly of claim 7, wherein the first support plate comprises a third leg and a second intersection between the second leg and the third leg, wherein the third leg is angled relative to the second leg, and wherein the first leg, the second leg, and the third leg of the first support plate are configured to define a C-shaped channel.
 9. The plate assembly of claim 1, wherein the plate body defines a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge each extending between the first end and the second end, the plate assembly further comprising: a stiffener attached to the plate body on a third axis extending between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge, wherein the stiffener is configured to support the plate body along at least a direction of the third axis, wherein the stiffener defines a stiffener thickness; and wherein the stiffener thickness is greater than the plate body thickness.
 10. The plate assembly of claim 9, wherein the stiffener thickness is greater than the first support plate thickness.
 11. The plate assembly of claim 9, wherein the first axis is perpendicular to the third axis.
 12. The plate assembly of claim 9, wherein the stiffener comprises a first stiffener leg and a second stiffener leg defining a stiffener intersection therebetween, wherein the stiffener intersection is disposed on the third axis, and wherein the first stiffener leg is disposed at an angle to the second stiffener leg.
 13. The plate assembly of claim 1, further comprising a flow control plate extending from and structurally supporting the first end of the plate body, wherein the flow control plate defines a first lateral flow encouraging surface and a second lateral flow encouraging surface.
 14. The plate assembly of claim 13, wherein the plate body defines a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge each extending between the first end and the second end, the plate assembly further comprising: a stiffener attached to the plate body disposed along the second end of the plate body on a third axis extending between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge, wherein the stiffener is configured to support the plate body along at least a direction of the third axis, wherein the stiffener defines a stiffener thickness; and wherein the stiffener thickness is greater than the plate body thickness.
 15. The plate assembly of claim 14, wherein the flow control plate is thicker than the stiffener, the stiffener is thicker than the first support plate, and the first support plate is thicker than the plate body.
 16. The plate assembly of claim 15, wherein the first flow control plate is 14 gauge stainless steel, wherein the stiffener is from 16 to 18 gauge stainless steel, wherein the first support plate is from 22 to 24 gauge stainless steel, and wherein the plate body is 26 gauge or thinner stainless steel.
 17. The plate assembly of claim 14, wherein each of the stiffener, the first support plate, and the flow control plate is thicker than the plate body.
 18. The plate assembly of claim 1, wherein the plate body is made from 26 gauge stainless steel sheet metal.
 19. The plate assembly of claim 1, wherein the plate body thickness is thinner than 24 gauge.
 20. The plate assembly of claim 19, wherein the plate body thickness is 26 gauge or thinner.
 21. The plate assembly of claim 20, wherein the plate body thickness is 26 gauge or 28 gauge.
 22. The plate assembly of claim 1, further comprising a welded joint between the plate body and the first support plate.
 23. The plate assembly of claim 1, wherein the plate body defines a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge each extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the plate body defines a width of 54.5 inches between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge.
 24. The plate assembly of claim 1, wherein the plate body defines a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge each extending between the first end and the second end, the plate assembly further comprising: a central stiffener attached to the plate body on a third axis extending between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge, wherein the stiffener is configured to support the plate body along at least a direction of the third axis, wherein the stiffener defines a central stiffener thickness.
 25. A method of manufacturing a plate assembly, the method comprising: defining a first end and a second end of a plate body made from sheet metal, the plate body comprising a first surface and a second surface each extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the plate body defines a plate body thickness between the first surface and the second surface; and attaching a first support plate made from sheet metal to the plate body on a first axis extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the first support plate is configured to support the plate body along at least a direction of the first axis, wherein the first support plate defines a first support plate thickness; and wherein the first support plate thickness is greater than the plate body thickness.
 26. The method of claim 25, further comprising attaching a second support plate to the plate body on a second axis extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the second support plate is configured to support the plate body along at least a direction of the second axis, wherein the second support plate defines a second support plate thickness, and wherein the second support plate thickness is greater than the plate body thickness.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the first axis is parallel to the second axis.
 28. The method of claim 26, wherein the plate body further defines a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge each extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the first support plate is attached to the plate body along the first lateral edge, and wherein the second support plate is attached to the plate body along the second lateral edge.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the first support plate is attached to the second surface of the plate body along the first lateral edge.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the second support plate is attached to the second surface of the plate body along the second lateral edge.
 31. The method of claim 25, wherein the first support plate comprises a first leg and a second leg defining a first intersection therebetween, wherein the first intersection is disposed on the first axis, wherein the first leg comprises an attachment surface configured to attach to the plate body, and wherein the first leg is angled relative to the second leg.
 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the first support plate comprises a third leg and a second intersection between the second leg and the third leg, wherein the third leg is angled relative to the second leg, and wherein the first leg, the second leg, and the third leg of the first support plate are configured to define a C-shaped channel.
 33. The method of claim 25, wherein the plate body defines a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge each extending between the first end and the second end, the plate assembly further comprising: attaching a stiffener to the plate body on a third axis extending between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge, wherein the stiffener is configured to support the plate body along at least a direction of the third axis, wherein the stiffener defines a stiffener thickness; and wherein the stiffener thickness is greater than the plate body thickness.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the stiffener thickness is greater than the first support plate thickness.
 35. The method of claim 33, wherein the first axis is perpendicular to the third axis.
 36. The method of claim 33, wherein the stiffener comprises a first stiffener leg and a second stiffener leg defining a stiffener intersection therebetween, wherein the stiffener intersection is disposed on the third axis, and wherein the first stiffener leg is disposed at an angle to the second stiffener leg.
 37. The method of claim 25, further comprising attaching a flow control plate extending from and structurally supporting the first end of the plate body, wherein the flow control plate defines a first lateral flow encouraging surface and a second lateral flow encouraging surface.
 38. The method of claim 25, wherein the plate body is made from 26 gauge stainless steel sheet metal.
 39. The method of claim 25, wherein the plate body thickness is thinner than 24 gauge.
 40. The method of claim 39, wherein the plate body thickness is 26 gauge or thinner.
 41. The method of claim 40, wherein the plate body thickness is 26 gauge or 28 gauge.
 42. The method of claim 25, further comprising welding a joint between the plate body and the first support plate.
 43. The method of claim 25, wherein the plate body defines a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge each extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the plate body defines a width of 54.5 inches between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge.
 44. The method of claim 25, wherein the plate body defines a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge each extending between the first end and the second end, the plate assembly further comprising: attaching a central stiffener to the plate body on a third axis extending between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge, wherein the central stiffener is configured to support the plate body along at least a direction of the third axis, wherein the central stiffener defines a central stiffener thickness.
 45. A plate assembly for a plate settler, the plate assembly comprising: a plate body defining a first end and a second end, the plate body comprising a first surface and a second surface each extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the plate body defines a plate body thickness between the first surface and the second surface; and a first support plate attached to the plate body on a first axis extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the first support plate is configured to support the plate body along at least a direction of the first axis, wherein the first support plate defines a first support plate thickness; and a welded joint between the plate body and the first support plate, wherein the first support plate thickness is greater than the plate body thickness.
 46. The plate assembly of claim 45, wherein the plate body and the first support plate are each made from sheet metal. 